Bomb threat forces evacuation at Pleasant Prairie school; schools across country

PLEASANT PRAIRIE -- Students were moved from Pleasant Prairie Elementary School in Kenosha County on Monday, May 23rd in the wake of a bomb threat, officials said. There were similar threats made to schools across the state of Wisconsin and the country on Monday -- "robocalls" that appear to have been made by a computer-generated program.

Pleasant Prairie police say the school received a voicemail message at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, May 23rd indicating there was a bomb in the school.

A Kenosha Unified School District spokeswoman said students were transported to Mahone Middle School, where parents picked up their students or the kids took the bus home at the end of the school day.

"We didn't know. My teacher was like, 'This was just fake for practice.' She was just telling us that so we wouldn't be scared," said Morgan Corley, a Pleasant Prairie Elementary School student.

"We then searched the school. We searched the parking lot, the areas around there. We didn't find anything suspicious. Any time something like this happens, it's obviously scary. It's a wake up call that those things can happen. But it's also a reassurance that we can do something so well, we can do what needs to be done," said Deputy Chief Daniel Reilly, Pleasant Prairie Police Department.

In the end, no credible threat was found. The school was deemed safe -- and officials say students are expected to return to class on Tuesday, May 24th.

During the event, police say there was a non-life threatening medical call at the school, unrelated to the bomb threat. That issue was handled without incident by Pleasant Prairie Fire & Rescue.

Nationwide "robocalls"

This was one of several bomb threats to occur in the state of Wisconsin and across the country on Monday. FOX6 News is told the FBI in Milwaukee has been made aware of the incidents.

Threats were received Monday at schools in Green Bay, Appleton and Port Washington; and at schools near Madison, Oshkosh and Kenosha. The threats resulted in evacuations and lockdowns. Some closed for the day, while classes resumed at others.

Officials with the Appleton School District described the threat to an elementary school there as "a short and anonymous automated phone call."

Other schools across the country also reported receiving threatening calls Monday, from new England to California.